Esther's Birth Story
I will preface this with a warning that there may be details here that some will not be comfortable reading. I will do my best to use delicate language, but to also share the reality of childbirth, especially at home...
Thursday evening at about 5:45pm, my water broke and we knew that we were in for the long haul at that point. We did manage some amount of sleep Thursday night. I sent Zeb to the office EARLY on Friday so that he could finish a project and get his hours in for the week and have time to take off later, when I really needed him...
Isaac and I stayed home alone on Friday morning, with Zeb and midwives on alert...Isaac was very cute. The first time I had a contraction with him next to me that caused me to moan and cry a little, he ran over to one of our phones...pushed a few buttons..waited a few seconds and then said, "9-1-1, my mommy crying, baby coming out, time to help!" It was hilarious and super sweet!
At about 11:45am, I knew it wouldn't be too much longer. Emily brought us some lunch, which we enjoyed. I called Zeb and let him know that he needed to finish his lunch meeting and come home. After a few more contractions, I called our midwife to let her know that she should probably start heading this way.
I tucked Isaac into bed for his nap and continued to labor, putzing around the house, and praying that Zeb and Stacia (my midwife) would get to the house as quickly as possible...
Zeb made it home at about 2pm. Stacia was about 15 minutes behind him, along with Susan (Stacia's amazing apprentice!!!). At about 3:25pm, Stacia was able to convince me that my urges to poop, were actually urges to push and I gave in....
3 strong contractions with solid pushes and about 15 minutes later, we had a beautiful baby girl in our arms. She was born in the water, exactly as planned! Our precious princess was a complete surprise in so many ways...Namely we were expecting a 10lb baby boy, and we got a 7lb 13oz little girl!
Our precious Esther Rose was born at 3:38pm on March 27th, 2009...Perfect, healthy, pink, and hungry. How we wish our story ended right here..
My placenta delivered without complications about 15 minutes after Esther. This was great news for me, because it was not this easy at all with Isaac. Unfortunately, things continued to deteriorate from there. I continued to lose a lot of blood (almost 2000cc before it was all said and done) and did pass out twice about 3 hours after her birth. The ambulance was called promptly.
I was transferred to St. Joe's in Ypsilanti, MI. Zeb came behind with Baby Esther and Grandma Joyce kept Isaac for the night. The hospital was as wonderful as it could have been. They did NOT admit Esther, which meant that I was the only patient and could go home once they were comfortable with my stability. I was there for less than 16 hours and left feeling quite good.
I am now on 3 days of strict bedrest and Zeb is doing his best to manage a household of people that need so much from him when he doesn't have much to give (he is just coming off of two weeks with mono).
We are so thankful for God's protection over all of us during this grand adventure! He is truly the Great Physician and has proven that 100 times over in the last 2 days.
Stacia and Susan were awesome! We couldn't have asked for a better birth experience, even with the unexpected emergency. They handled everything very well and the hospital staff treated them very professionally. We are so thankful for their attentiveness to us and the need for more intensive care than they could provide at home. They are wise women, who deeply cared that everything turned out for the best for all of us...
Esther is doing great! She is a champion nurser and my milk is already in! So much for pitocin slowing that down any...Isaac is loving her deeply, but is having to learn his own strength and relearning the meaning of the word "gentle"...He loves to hold her and wants to kiss her a lot!
Zeb is doing well, although quite tired still. Please pray for his body to get sufficient rest. He desperately needs it!
I am doing great! I just have to mind myself and not do more than I should...
